Tailwind
by Kaytoko
Summary: It was easy to just shift the blame off to something else. Blame the bad bus schedule. Blame the stupid crowds in town that shuffled her on the wrong bus. Blame the cellphone companies for not putting cell towers out in the middle of nowhere just in case stupid girls like her got lost. But when it came down to it, Gou just had to accept the truth. She was stranded. SeiGou. Oneshot.


Gou was hot. The summer sun at midday was practically oppressive, beading sweat against her brow and heating her exposed skin to an uncomfortable level. Wiping at the sweat dripping down the back of her neck, she looked down at her watch. The minute hand had barely moved past the black seven at the bottom of the face. She gave a quiet sigh and let her hand fall to her side. Somewhere in the distance, cicadas hummed. It had already been over half an hour since the posted time for the next bus, and the bus still hadn't come. She watched with distant eyes as storm clouds built colossal white towers on the horizon; the empty fields of swaying rice fields and the slope of nearby mountains forcing her to accept the reality of her unfortunate situation.

She was completely stranded in the middle of nowhere.

And she had no idea what to do.

It was easy to just shift the blame off to something else. Blame the bad bus schedule. Blame the stupid crowds in town that shuffled her on the wrong bus. Blame the cellphone companies for not putting cell towers out in the middle of nowhere just in case stupid girls like her got lost. But when it came down to it, it was her fault. She had been distracted reading something off her cellphone when she had gotten on the bus after shopping in town. She hadn't realized just how tired she really was until she managed to secure a seat in the back by a window. She fell asleep relatively quickly and the next thing she knew, she was waking up to the bus bouncing along a deserted two-lane highway in the middle of nowhere. She had panicked and darted up to the front to talk to the bus driver, who could only give half-hearted sympathies and a recommendation to catch the returning bus back into town. With the reassurance that the bus would come relatively quickly, Gou was left standing at a lonely, run-down bus stop in the middle of nowhere, watching the bus disappear down the empty two-lane street with a sinking feeling.

Half an hour later, she was hardly feeling anything anymore, aside from the oppressive heat that scorched the pavement beneath her feet. Wiping at her brow again, she swallowed humid air down her parched throat, really wishing she had thought about buying a bottle of water at the vending machine at the last bus stop she was at. She stared down at the cute strappy high-heels she had chosen to wear that day, watching as the line of sunlight inched toward her pink-painted toenails with every passing minute. She had spent a little more time than usual picking out her outfit for the day. She remembered smiling as she laid out the flowery mini-skirt and the cream colored loose-fitting top that morning, thinking maybe it would be her day to finally find a boyfriend. The line of sunlight inched over her toes. She took a step back into the shade. Now that cute outfit was clinging uncomfortably to her sweaty skin, providing little to no protection against the hot sun. She was only grateful for what little shade the bus stop had.

Her purse felt heavy on her shoulder and the single bag she had received from shopping felt like a deadweight in her hands. It was just a cute little flower hair accessory she thought might look good with her new kimono for the upcoming festival and a single pair of chopsticks she had intended to give to Rin for his birthday, but the tiny bag felt like a million pounds under the hot summer sun. She blinked heavily as she looked out across the distant green fields again. The storm clouds in the distance looked a little bigger than before, but that might have just been wishful thinking.

She shifted slightly, feeling a little faint. When her vision blurred slightly, she sunk to the hot concrete floor with a heavy slump. Sitting in the shade, she leaned her head back with her eyes closed and focused on breathing. The air was heavy with humidity and felt thick going into her lungs. She was so hot. There was absolutely no relief out in the middle of nowhere. She had no idea when she would be able to make it back home, or even _how_ she was going to get home. A panicked feeling of helplessness bubbled in her chest, but she kept it in. Panicking was only going to make the situation worse.

She forced herself to focus on her breathing, blocking out the painful pinch of her sunburnt skin, the prickle of gravel against her hands, and the sweat trickling down the side of her face. She drew a deep breath in. Then out. In. Out. Somewhere in the distance, the cicadas quieted down. She could hear the wind passing over the rice paddies and the bugs chirping softly. There was another sound, but it wasn't until it got louder with its approach that she realized it sounded like tires. She snapped her eyes open and looked out on the street. Along the edge of the street, she saw a single biker coming down the road toward her. Relief so strong blasted through her veins, forcing adrenaline through her tired limbs. She rose to her feet and waved, calling the biker over. It wasn't until he came closer that she realized she knew who he was.

"Mikoshiba-senpai?" she said in disbelief.

The captain of Rin's swim team came to a skidding halt beside her, confusion pulling at his brow for a moment before he realized who had waved him down. "Gou-kun?!"

"What are you doing out here?" she asked in surprise.

"I should be asking you that," he said. "This isn't anywhere near the city. How did you get out here?"

She was so filled with relief on seeing him that the story just spilled from her lips. He leaned against the handlebars of his bike and laughed at the result of her story. She couldn't even bring herself to be slightly annoyed that he had laughed at her misfortune. As she spoke, she realized that he looked just as hot as she did, sweat making his tank top stick to his tanned skin, accenting the toned chest she knew he had from all his time spent swimming. She averted her eyes slightly, feeling a little bit hotter than she already did.

"Well, you're really lucky I happened to be passing by then," he said with a smile. "That bus won't come for another three hours." Gou could feel her jaw drop slightly at that news and suddenly she was all the more grateful for his unprecedented appearance. He readjusted his seating on his bike and gestured to the metal seat behind him. "Hop on. My grandparents live in a little fishing town nearby. You can wait at my place until the bus comes by."

She gave him a grateful smile and secured her purse and shopping bag before getting on behind him. She tried to find a good place to grip on the seat before Seijuurou gave her an amused look over his shoulder. "You're probably going to want to hold on to me. I don't want you to fall off."

Gou swallowed the sudden burst of nervousness she felt before leaning in closer to wrap her arms around Seijuurou's stomach. He was sweaty, just as she expected, but when he kicked off his bike and began pedaling down the street again, she could feel his tight muscles moving beneath her fingers. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the fluttering in her chest.

"So, your grandparents live out here?" she asked, trying to find something to distract herself.

"Yeah," he responded. "I come out here every summer break after swimming ends to help them out. They're older and still live on their own so they appreciate the help I give them when I can."

"Ah," Gou responded. "But if they live on the coastline, why are you biking out here?"

"When they were younger, my grandparents used to be fishermen. My grandpa still goes out, but he doesn't catch quite as much as he used to. Now they just sell what little they catch and ship it out to the other little towns around this area," he responded. "Usually they just drive their van, but it broke down last week, so I've been biking the shipments back and forth."

"Wow," Gou said in amazement. "That's got to be really tough."

"Eh, I don't think so," he said. She could see the smile on his lips, even from behind him. "Its good exercise and I know they really appreciate it. Besides, they usually cook me a special meal for dinner after I get home. Tonight it's going to be hot pot!"

Gou found herself smiling at the excitement in his voice. She had always known Seijuurou Mikoshiba to be a hard worker. He put in a lot of time and effort in for the Samezuka swim team and still found time to train himself to be the really skilled athlete that he was. He was a little goofy sometimes and probably still called her "Gou-kun" because he knew she didn't like it, but she knew he took what he did very seriously and for that, she could admit to admiring him.

It turned out that the coastal town that Seijuurou's grandparents lived in was only an hour away by bike. But under the hot summer sun, it seemed so much farther away. Gou's skin felt like it was on fire with each passing minute, and the little breeze created from the moving bike was only a relief for the first fifteen minutes. It soon felt like blistering hot air blowing over her already burnt skin and stung with the kick up of gravel as the bike pushed on. It was so painful she wanted to cry, but she swallowed her tears. Seijuurou kept pushing on, his breath growing strained after a while of continuous pedaling, but he didn't falter or stop to take a break. She asked him once when she realized he was growing tired if he wanted to stop for a little while, but he merely smiled at her over his shoulder and explained simply, "If I stop now, I'm not sure I'll have the energy to keep going."

Another thirty minutes of riding through the intense summer heat, Gou started to see roofs of houses pop up along the horizon. She felt herself smiling as they grew closer, the promise of shade and cool air so strong that she could almost feel it on her skin already. Seijuurou gave a sigh of relief and sat back slightly as he let the natural gravity of the hill leading down to the town carry the bike. The tiny fishing town was made up of a handful of old-style Japanese houses with thatched roofs still being held down by large rocks. The houses ran all the way up to the edge of the blue waters of the ocean, a tiny wooden port and three small sailboats tied up to the damp wood, distant white caps moving with the currents of the wind. A few people walked the dusty streets between houses, carrying groceries back from the tiny store down by shore while others beat the dirt out of futons in front of their houses. They looked friendly and waved as Seijuurou and Gou rode past. They continued down the road until they saw a tiny, two story blue house with white painted windows with tiny pots of well-tended flowers placed on the front porch. Seijuurou came to a stop, beads of sweat dripping down his neck and a wide smile of relief crossing his face as he looked up at the house.

"This is it," he announced, waiting for Gou to climb off the bike. "Obaa-san! I'm back!"

Gou adjusted her skirt a bit, feeling a little embarrassed that she was going to meet her brother's senpai's family so unexpectedly. She didn't think anything about it when he had mentioned it earlier, but now that they were standing in front of the quaint little house, she was starting to feel nervous. Absentmindedly, she tucked the ends of her sweaty bangs behind her ears as Seijuurou put his bike away, the door to the house opening unexpectedly, making her jump.

"Oh, Sei-chan!" an elderly woman in a yellow yukata said. "Welcome back. I've just started preparing the hotpot."

"That's great, Obaa-san," Seijuurou said, with a smile. He looked over at Gou, who stood there uncomfortably, her hands clasped behind her back. "I hope you don't mind having another guest for dinner," he said, placing a hand on his grandmother's shoulder. "This is the younger sister of one of the guys on my swim team, Kou Matsuoka." Gou reacted slightly in surprise at his use of her preferred name. She had thought that he was bound and determined to ignore her every time she corrected him. "She got lost out on one of the busses in the country and is going to wait around to catch one of them back."

"Oh dear," his grandmother said sympathetically. "That is quite unfortunate luck. Come in, come in! You look like you've been out in the sun for days!"

"It nearly feels like it… Thank you, ma'am," Gou said with a quiet breath of relief.

"Please, call me grandma," she said with a smile, welcoming Gou into her house with open arms.

"Yes… Obaa-san," the younger girl said shyly.

"Wonderful," she said. "Now let's get you out of those sweaty clothes and into something much nicer."

Gou smiled and glanced over at Seijuurou who grinned in response. "Just wait till you try her hotpot," he said as they went into the house. "You'll never want to eat anything else ever again."

Seijuurou's grandmother was much sweeter than Gou could have ever hoped for, and she instantly took to the girl like she was one of her own grandchildren. She pulled out a light-weight yukata for her to wear and let her take a bath to refresh her sticky skin some. Feeling like a new person again with wet hair and a happy smile, Gou shyly stepped into the rice-paper partitioned living room with tatami mats and a back porch looking out to the ocean over the tops of the other houses. Seijuurou sat on the porch with his back comfortably leaned against the sliding doors, a fan sitting only a foot away and blowing full-blast on him. He sat up slightly, a slight blush alighting on his cheeks, as she entered to take a seat on the floor a few feet away from him.

"You look happier," he commented with a small lift to his lips. "How's your sunburn? My Obaa-san has this cream that works wonders, if you want me to go get it."

Gou shyly looked away, twisting the ends of her still damp hair. "That's okay…"

There was a moment of awkward silence between them and Gou nervously squeezed drops of water from her hair onto her lap. The room was tidy and clean but comfortable as most old Japanese houses were. There was an old TV set up in the corner of the room with a thin layer of dust on its wooden top between the antennae, a remote placed neatly between them. There was a singular bookcase on one side of the room that boasted every school photo of Seijuurou since he was a kid, braces puberty and all. Sitting on the table between them was a tiny clock that ticked quietly, mixing with the sound of the warm wind blowing through the house.

"It looks like it might rain," Seijuurou said, breaking the silence. Gou glanced up to look outside, finally noticing the way the heavy dark clouds were sweeping across the blue skies. As a shadow fell over their heads, a cool breeze blew through the house, tossing a few loose papers up and chilling Gou's warm skin. Just as she closed her eyes to enjoy the nice feel of the wind, Seijuurou's grandmother slid the rice paper door open just behind her.

"I have some snacks," she said placing a plate of sliced cucumbers and a small bowl of miso dip on the table. "Sei-chan, will you close that door? The neighbors say the storm is building up to be a typhoon and I want to run to the store real quick."

"I can go, Obaa-san," Seijuurou said, closing the door to the outside.

"Pah," she said, giving her grandchild a defiant look. "Your grandfather will be home soon and intends to help me with the groceries. Besides, you already biked the first two shipments all the way into the next town. I won't send you out again today."

Seijuurou looked uncertain but eventually nodded. "Okay. Just be careful, okay Obaa-san?"

She gave him a confident look and lifted a closed fist. "Your grandma is tougher than she looks," she announced. "Please eat the snacks. I will be home to make dinner soon!"

She left in a hurry, slipping on her sandals and grabbing an umbrella along the way. Gou was left waiting, uncertain how to feel about the new information. She bit her lip slightly, looking at the clock on the table before reaching out a hand to take a slice of cucumber.

"When does the bus come?"

"At three," Seijuurou answered, sliding over to the spot beside her at the table to take a slice of cucumber himself. "So, not for another hour and a half." He crunched his cucumber thoughtfully, glancing out the window behind him. "Although… It might not be running at all if the weather picks up like Obaa-san thinks it might."

Gou was silent, looking out the window with a slight apprehension and a worry she wasn't sure was completely unfounded. And sure enough, within the next hour, the storm hit with a raging power that rattled the tiny costal town. Torrents of rain fell upon the tiny houses and pounded at the windows, huge waves crashed along the shore and winds as powerful as a tornado tore at the locked doors and windows of the small two-story house they were huddled up in. Luckily, Seijuurou's grandparents returned home when it was still just a gentle rain and were busy preparing the ingredients for the hotpot in the kitchen.

Gou stood by the front door, trying to look out through the window and the heavy rain for Seijuurou who went to go see if the bus was still running. After ten minutes of waiting, she saw a blurry form of somebody being tossed around in the wind and the rain, coming back up to the door. She quickly opened it for him and was instantly blasted in the face by the torrential winds of the storm. Seijuurou ducked in quickly and slammed the door behind him, breathing heavy. He was completely drenched: his usually spiky red hair was flat against his head, dark and dripping water against his mouth, and his clothes stuck to his skin like it were glue. Gou could see the shape of his muscles under his shirt and she had to look away shyly as she held up a clean towel for him. He took it with a small chuckle, running a hand through his hair to push away his waterlogged bangs.

"Thanks," he said, pulling the towel over his head. "Unfortunately, I don't think this is going to be enough to dry _all_ of me."

"I'm sorry you had to go out in that," Gou said softly, still looking off to the side.

"It's just water," he said with a shrug. "And I did manage to figure out that the busses have been stopped until the weather calms down. Although, with the way it's raining right now, it's anybody's guess how long that will be."

Gou bit her lips slightly at the news, flipping open the cellphone she still had clenched in her hand. Even now, she still didn't have any bars and had no way of really telling her family that she was okay. She could only image how mad her dad was going to be. Or Rin, if he ever found out. She shivered slightly at the thought and closed her phone with a quiet snap. She looked back up at Seijuurou again, intending to ask him if the landlines were still working, when her heart froze in her chest. He had yanked off his shirt and was now standing in front of her half naked as he was starting to reach down and take off his shorts. She let out a soft yelp of surprise and spun around, her hands flying to her face to cover her burning cheeks.

"W-what are you doing?!" she asked.

"Just taking off my wet clothes," he said simply. "Please let my Obaa-san know that I'm jumping in the bath and I'll be ready for dinner in a few."

He stepped past Gou, still frozen in the entranceway, dressed in only his underwear as he entered the bathroom, the door sliding closed behind him. Gou knew that it shouldn't have been that big of a deal to see Seijuurou in his underwear. Hell, he wore _more_ for his underwear than he did for swimming most days. But there was something a lot more intimate about seeing him in such a state that had her heart beating double time and her blush spreading wider across her cheeks. She had always thought him to be a well-built guy, but now she was starting to realize that he was also very, _very_ attractive. Rubbing her hands over her eyes, Gou gave a quiet sigh. If she didn't get her act together soon, this was going to be a challenging couple hours.

Wandering back into the house, she lingered by the door to the kitchen, watching Seijuurou's grandparents talk softly to each other as they cut up vegetables together. They were so in their own world, working together and laughing softly. Gou smiled partly to herself and coughed quietly to catch their attention. His grandmother turned first, her lips turning up in a pleasant smile.

"Hello, dear," she greeted. "Are you feeling hungry?"

"Oh… Well, yes," Gou admitted softly. "But I actually just wanted to tell you that Mik—ah, I mean, Seijuurou is in the bath." She swallowed slightly at the informal use of Seijuurou's name, her heart beating slightly faster. Averting her eyes slightly, she quickly changed the subject. "Um, do you have a landline I could use? I want to try and call my parents."

"Oh, sure darling," she said, walking over to remove the bags from on top of the phone. "You're welcome to try, although I'm not sure if the lines will be live or not."

Gou thanked her anyway, and typed in the familiar number to her home. She waited with the receiver pressed against her ear for a couple minutes, only the fuzzy sound of disconnect ringing in her ear. She sighed in defeat after a little while and stole a look out the window again. It was raining so hard she could hardly see anything through it. She had no idea how she was going to be getting home now.

"Did it work?" Seijuurou's grandmother asked.

"No," she said, moving to step away from the phone. "I'm sorry to be imposing on your hospitality like this. I feel really stupid for not paying attention earlier, and now you have to take care of me through this storm…"

"Psh," the elderly woman said, touching the younger girl's shoulder. "It's hardly a detriment, darling. Besides, it's nice to have another woman around the house. It gets so stuffy in here with all these boys." Gou smiled at her small joke. "But I just want you to know that you are more than welcome to stay here for as long as you need. It might actually be a safer idea, especially with how powerful the typhoon is right now."

Gou felt bad for a moment, for impeding on kind woman's house like this, but she couldn't argue with her logic. The storm was only getting worse and from the radar that they had pulled up on the tv in the living room, it was only the tip of the iceberg. She gave a quiet sigh before offering Seijuurou's grandmother an appreciative smile. "Thank you, Obaa-san. You've been very kind to me."

"Not at all, dear. Anything for Sei-chan's girlfriend," she said with a wink.

Gou felt her face flushing instantly. "W-We're not—"

"Oh, come now. I wasn't born yesterday," the older woman said, propping her hands on her hips. "I see how you look at him. And he hasn't shut up about you since he came to visit this summer. Gou-kun this and Gou-kun that. I was afraid that he had a crush on a boy at first, which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, mind you, but it seems that he was just talking about a really pretty girl with a boy's name."

Gou groaned quietly and said nothing, her cheeks still warm.

"Anyway, I'm just teasing you, dear," Seijuurou's grandmother said. "Go ahead and wash up for dinner. It should be ready in a few."

Gou nodded respectfully and wandered off toward the bathroom. It was normal for grandparents to tease younger kids, Gou knew this, but she couldn't get her words out of her head. The older woman had insisted that she could tell she liked him from the look in her eyes, but up until just a few moments before, she hadn't thought anything of Seijuurou beyond just the nice captain of her brother's swim team. Was her admiration of him a little too obvious? Had she been staring more than she thought she had? She wasn't sure that was entirely it. But something about her words was still picking at Gou's mind. Did Seijuurou really like her as much as his grandmother implied?

She was still semi-lost in her thoughts when she went to open the door to the bathroom, but it slid open before she could. She jumped a little in surprise, her cheeks instantly growing hot when she saw Seijuurou standing there. He was fully dressed this time, with a towel tossed over his head, and he jumped slightly in his own surprise when he saw her there.

"I swear I wasn't waiting for you to get out," Gou said quickly, her embarrassment growing with every word that tumbled out of her mouth. "I m-mean, I _was_, but not in the way that might be weird—" She hung her head slightly, feeling incredibly stupid in that moment. "I promise I just wanted to wash my hands."

Seijuurou just laughed. It was a boisterous, full-bodied laugh that resonated warmly somewhere in Gou's chest. "It's alright, Gou-kun," he said, reaching out to ruffle her hair as he walked by. "I don't think you're weird at all."

Gou watched him as he walked down the hall to greet his grandparents in the kitchen with a warm smile and her heart fluttered slightly in her chest. He was really a good looking boy and had such a warm and lighthearted soul to match it. Leaning up against the doorframe of the bathroom, Gou pressed her hands against her cheeks to feel the heat of the blush that still lingered there. Yep, this was definitely going to a challenging stay.

The storm had picked up some in the following few hours, tossing the tops of trees around in the wind like they were caught in a wind tunnel and the rain beat against the doors and windows like an army of angry soldiers playing drums to intimidate their enemies. Gou probably should have been more worried about the severity of the typhoon, but she was too busy enjoying every bite of the delicious hotpot Seijuurou's grandparents had made. The flavors were subtle but incredibly satisfying, so delectable that she thought she might start crying. When she mentioned that to the others at the table, they had laughed and insisted that she eat more, and for once, she couldn't say no to such an offer.

They finished dinner off relatively quickly and sat around the dining table chatting comfortably for another hour or so. Gou told a story about her brother when he was younger and Seijuurou told a counter story about Rin in return. They all laughed familiarly at those stories and Seijuurou's grandmother proceeded to tell an embarrassing story about Seijuurou when he was still in elementary school. He complained and dropped his head against the table to hide the mortified blush that crept up his neck to his face. Gou laughed loudly, both at the story and his reaction to it, and casually caught his look as he turned his head slightly to give her a soft, affectionate smile. Caught off guard, her heart skipped a beat in her chest and she had to turn away to hide her own blush.

His grandparents retired for the night relatively early, and his grandmother put out a futon for Gou, insisting once again that she was more than happy to offer the girl a place to stay for the night. Gou thanked her a few times more before she left, allowing the rice paper door to close softly behind her. There were a few beats of silence between the two of them left in the room, and Gou was sure that the sounds of the wind blowing the rain around outside weren't loud enough to cover up the nervous beating of her heart. But Seijuurou seemed calm and he closed his eyes to comfortably lay his head against the table.

"My grandmother likes you," he told her.

Her heart skipped a slight beat in surprise. "D-Does she?"

"Yeah," he said. "I can tell that she likes having a girl around the house for once. I think she gets bored just having Ojii-san and I around all the time."

Gou smiled slightly to herself. "I don't think so."

He opened his eyes. "Really?"

"Really," she confirmed. "You guys seem like you have a lot of fun together. And I can tell that she's really proud to have you as a grandson. She has only been telling me good things about you since I got here."

"Oh, jeez," he said softly, turning his head slightly to hide the return of his embarrassed blush. "I hope she didn't tell you anything else embarrassing about me. I might never live it down."

Gou bit her lip, remembering what his grandmother had said about his crush on her. She almost wanted to ask about it, just to see if it was really true, but the idea of confirming it made her slightly nervous. So, she just said nothing instead.

He turned his head back over to look at her, catching her secretive look and groaned softly to himself. "She did, didn't she?"

Gou bit back her smile and gave him a shrug.

"At least tell me what it is so that I can wallow in my own misery knowing what it was," he said, giving her a pleading look. "Please, Gou-kun."

"Kou," she corrected automatically, crossing her arms. "If you really want to know, start calling me Kou from now on."

He looked at her for a short moment before moving to sit up. She watched him move, her eyes captivated by his mouth as he licked them carefully before speaking. "Please… Kou."

Her heart fluttered slightly at the low tone of his voice curling around the sound of her name. But there was something off about it. Like hearing her preferred version of her name on his lips almost sounded… _wrong_. She wanted to hear him speak her name, her _real_ name, with the same tone he had just used. She opened her mouth to ask him, her heart beating faster in her chest, when a loud boom shook the house around her, cutting her voice silent. She jumped in surprise, her heart flying to her throat as Seijuurou looked over his shoulder, jumping to his feet to look out the window.

"Was that thunder?" she asked, trying to calm her erratically beating heart. She wasn't quite sure if it was from the surprise of the thunder or the realization of what she almost asked him.

"Yeah," he confirmed, his voice light with excitement. "Quick, turn off the light. You've gotta see this."

She hesitated a moment in confusion, a second rumble of softer thunder pulling through the air before she got up to flip the light switch off. With darkness ruling over the room, she could see the flashes of light coming from the window, illuminating Seijuurou's silhouette. She stepped up beside him, her shoulder brushing slightly against his, to look outside as well. The rain still fell in thick torrents against the window, but between the raindrops, Gou could make out spider webs of electricity bouncing from cloud to cloud, accompanied by the soft roll of more thunder. With every flash of light, she saw the colossal towers of clouds rising above the ground and every raindrop that fell in between. It was like seeing a snapshot of the storm with every spark of lightning.

"Wow," she breathed.

"Yeah," Seijuurou agreed, his tone wistful.

She glanced at him then, studying what little she could make of his face in the low lighting. His expression was excited, a boyish grin lifting the corners of his lips and crinkling the edges of his eyes. He was already an attractive guy: all muscle, sharp edges, high cheekbones and a strong jawline, but there was something about his expression that really captivated Gou in that moment. She felt her heart warming and tightening within her chest, the world narrowing around them into those few seconds she spent staring at him. When he finally looked over at her, his golden eyes alight, even in the darkness, she knew she was really seeing him for the first time.

"Tell me something," she said softly, her heart being faster as she looked at him in the darkness. They were so close. She could practically feel the brush of his shoulder against hers. "Do you like me?"

She didn't even realize she was counting the seconds with her heartbeats until he gave a soft breath, his lips parting slightly. "Yes."

There was no hesitation in his voice, only simple truth. The clarity and certainty of his answer made her heart skip a beat and she took a deep, shaky breath as she looked up to meet his eyes again. The boyishness of his expression had all but disappeared, replaced with honest seriousness. Gou licked her lips slightly, watching as his eyes moved down to watch her do it.

"Say my name," she whispered.

He leaned in, almost imperceptibly, his eyes still trained on her lips. "Kou…"

"No," she said, her voice shaking slightly with the heavy beating of her heart. "My _real_ name."

He paused for a moment, his eyes looking back up to meet hers. He opened his mouth slowly, his lips curling around her name, just as she hoped it would. "Gou."

She heard the low thrum of his voice passing over the start of her name and swirling around it like melted chocolate. Her cheeks grew warm and her heart fluttered slightly. "Again," she whispered.

He leaned in closer, his hand coming up to lightly touch the edge of her jaw. Her heart fluttered again. "Gou…"

She breathed softly, her eyes sliding shut. "Again…"

But instead of saying her name again, Seijuurou kissed her. It was light and feathery, a tentative touch of lips as opposed to an actual kiss, but it was enough to make her heart skip a beat. He pulled away for a breath of a second before leaning in to kiss her again, his hand slipping behind her neck to pull her even closer. Her fingers fell against his chest and curled into his shirt as she pushed herself closer to him, completely engrossed in the feelings that swirled around inside her. He kissed her firmly yet carefully, lingering on every moment their lips were pressed together. Somewhere in the distance, Gou heard the thunder rumble again, mixing with the sound of the rain still falling against the window they stood beside.

He pulled away after a while, his lips remaining only inches away from hers in case he decided to kiss her again. Her face felt like it was on fire, her breath short and quick like the beats of her heart. She swallowed slightly and looked up at his eyes, taking in the dusting of a blush that colored his tanned cheeks. He smiled slightly, only one side of his lips coming up in the nervous gesture. She gave a quiet chuckle and smiled herself. His smile widened and he moved to put his arms around her shoulders, pulling her close to him. She rested her cheek against his chest, her fingers still twisted in his shirt, and breathed slowly, feeling his arms around her. Seijuurou rested his cheek against the top of her head for a nice moment before he let out a soft groan against her hair.

"What's wrong?" she asked in a whisper.

"I just remembered that Rin is your brother," he said. "He's going to kill me if he finds out I kissed you."

Gou laughed softly. "Then we just won't tell him," she said. "On one condition."

"What condition?" he asked hesitantly.

She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of being in his arms. "That you will always call me Gou from now on."

She felt him smile against her hair. "Deal."

They stayed up for an hour or two longer, just sitting next to the window listening to the rumbling thunder and watching the lightning light up the sky. Gou leaned against Seijuurou's side, his arm comfortably resting over her shoulder and her fingers laced through his. They spoke softly to each other about mundane things until she started to grow sleepy. She felt him kiss her forehead softly before she fell completely asleep against his side. When she woke up the next morning, she was under the blankets on the futon and she was alone. Yawning slightly to herself, she rolled on her side to look out the window, noticing the lack of a heavy torrent against the window pane. The morning was a soft, overcast grey and only a gentle sprinkle pitter-pattered against the glass. She watched it in a content silence for a while until she started hearing footsteps moving around in the house. Sitting up, she greeted Seijuurou's grandmother as she opened the sliding door with a smile and a plate of delicious smelling fish.

"Hungry?" she asked with a smile.

Gou's stomach answered that question for her.

Seijuurou was the last one to wake up that morning, his eyes still bleary and his hair flat against his head, but he greeted her with a warm smile and a hug that had her blushing, but she accepted it willingly. After a warm breakfast and a series of pleasantries and gratitude, Gou dressed herself in the clothes she had previously worn the day before and gathered her things to walk to the bus stop. The gentle rain had continued into the late morning and Seijuurou held the umbrella as he walked her to the bus stop. The storm the night before brought out the green in the grass again and cooled the morning some. They walked instep slowly, Gou's fingers playing nervously with the strap of her purse as she watched her feet walk through shallow puddles. She felt uncertain what to say to him now that they were one-on-one again. Did she talk about how she felt? What they were? What happened next?

Seijuurou coughed slightly, catching Gou's attention with a nervous thump of her heart. "So… There's this festival next week at the Honkoji shrine," he started out slowly, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. "Would you like to go with me?"

Gou looked up at him, her heart warming in her chest until it felt like it was going to burst. He looked nervous for a moment until the wide smile split across her face and she laughed. "Yes," she said happily. "Yes, I would love to."

He smiled as well and gave an audible sigh. "Great! Great… Oh man, I was worried you were going to say no for a second."

Gou kept the smile on her face and purposefully bumped into his shoulder with her own. "That's not really likely, Sei," she said, blushing at the intimate nickname she used.

He shrugged slightly, his own cheeks going pink before reaching over to take her hand into his. Their fingers intertwined warmly and she squeezed his hand happily. They walked the rest of the way to the bus stop in a comfortable silence, enjoying the cool morning and the company of each other. After waiting a few minutes at the stop, the bus turned the corner down the street heading for them. As it approached, Gou felt a mix of feelings: of relief for being able to go home, but also of sadness for having to leave so early. She had bonded so well with Seijuurou and his grandparents, she hated to leave so quickly.

"Do you think you might be getting lost on a bus again anytime soon?" Seijuurou asked jokingly as the bus approached. "Because I think my grandparents would love to have you come visit again sometime soon."

"Just your grandparents?" she asked teasingly.

He chuckled at little at her jab. "Okay, I think maybe _I_ would also like to see you again."

She smiled up at him and leaned up on her toes to kiss him warmly on the cheek. "I'll see what I can do," she said. "Pick me up next week at seven and I'll see if there's a good time for me to accidentally fall asleep on the wrong bus again."

He grinned. "Deal."


End file.
